Floating and Covid Times

Since re-opening in July, we have been booked solid, with so many clients finding relief from the stress of the times in our tanks. It's been an absolute privilege to be a place of healing for you all as we navigate the unfurling (mis)adventure that is 2020. The next chapter has some increased Covid numbers, and I wanted to take a moment to address that with the Float Fam, as many of you may have only just started to consider leaving your house to do anything, and here we are at round 3 on the cusp of wintertime.

Well, I have some things to say that will hopefully put your mind at ease, as far as floating and Covid is concerned.

Now, going anywhere right now carries a certain amount of risk along with it. States have been facing the difficult situation of how to keep people safe, how to make sure we can continue to support ourselves long term and maintain some semblance of normalcy. Needless to say, the situation has been more than a little stressful! Normally, in a situation like this, we would leap at the opportunity to get into float tanks. The environment seems tailor-made for crises like this. We can isolate, de-stress, and there’s evidence to suggest that floating and improved mindfulness can strengthen the immune system.

The good news is float tanks have a few things about them that generally make them safer than other wellness modalities. Here’s a few things to remember about how much safer floating is than most activities in a COVID world:

• They’re unmanned: At no point do you need to directly interact with practitioners in order to feel the full benefits of floating.

• Cleanliness: Customers shower before and after the float. This makes a world of difference in mitigating risk and exposure.

• Un-congested space: With just two clients at Halcyon for each round of floats, it’s easy to maintain safe social distance. By the end of any given day, only 10 clients have been hosted in the entire shop.

• Heat and Humidity: Heat and humidity seem to be hostile to the coronavirus, which naturally inhibits growth in float environments. Not to mention, Covid does not spread through water (especially not super salty water).

So already, the nature of floating is already very safe to begin with. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t additional precautions to take before going for a float.

• Mask up: Just like going to the grocery store, be sure to wear a mask when going to your float center. We have hand sanitizer in each room, as well.

• Longer Gaps between Appointments: We extended the time gaps we have between appointments so that incoming clients will not cross paths with outgoing clients. This also allows us extra time do clean and sterilize the space between users.

• UV Sterilizations: To combat covid, we invested in some UV sterilizing lights that we use between every floater in each room. This is on top of our already rigorous cleaning process, which now includes hosing down the inside of our tanks walls with a Covid killing peroxide solution between each client.

• Don’t sit/don’t linger: While we navigate Covid, we kindly ask your understanding as we keep our post float lounge closed at this time. Limiting clients time in the common areas helps us keep up with our cleaning process, and limits possible person to person exposure, while clients share the space.

• Stay home if you need to: If you have a fever or other symptoms and think you might be contagious, it might be better to wait until you feel better before going to float. Don't worry, you won't get dinged with a fee if you cancel last minute as a safety precaution. We appreciate the thought and honesty as we all do our part to protect ourselves, and eachother.

As you can see, floating is so much safer than many other practices in light of current ci

rcumstances. Even with all these considerations, many people may also be concerned with contributing to unsafe conditions for workers or the general public. Understandable.

During quarantine, the main reason I didn't leave my house was not just to limit my exposure, but to not contribute to potential spread our of consideration of others. That's why I opened up on a delay, back in late July. Because, while I think it’s important for people to float (now more than ever), I only wanted to do so after making sure I could provide a safe service for my clients, and safe workplace for my staff. You can rest assured we are making every effort to do so.

While floating may seem like a luxury in some regards, we know first hand that it has been life changing for so many people. This practice is extremely helpful for de-stressing and can help you think and act more clearly in the rest of your day-to-day life. It can help you return to a sense of normalcy by finding time to refocus your attention and prioritize what’s important right now. It makes you healthier by reducing your stress, which can strengthen your immune system. It checks off a lot of boxes as far as what so many of us need to heal right now.

So, as always, you should absolutely do what you think is best during this time. That said, as you mull over your options, I would nudge you ever so slightly to consider supporting the practices that are working hard to bring serenity back to a world that needs it so very much right now.

And, a little post script side note: If you are struggling with keeping your spirits up or having difficulty finding ways to incorporate self-care while staying home during Covid times, I whipped up a quick little At-Home Self-Care To-Do List that you can download for free HERE.

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